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7 fun Christmas things to do with Alexa

What does Alexa want for Christmas this year? My guess is Amazon's digital assistant would like to become a "real girl," but maybe that's because I've read Pinocchio one too many times.

Actually, this isn't a rhetorical question: If you want to know what Alexa wants for Christmas, just ask her.

And that's just one of the fun things you can do in the weeks leading up to Dec. 25. Turns out the lady who lives inside so many devices has a decidedly festive spirit. Let's take a look at some of the other Christmas tricks Alexa can perform:

Play Christmas music
OK, this is fairly obvious. Assuming you're an Amazon Prime subscriber, Alexa can play all kinds of Christmas tunes -- everything from "That's Christmas to Me" by Pentatonix to "The 50 Greatest Songs of Christmas" by various artists. And if you have an Amazon Music Unlimited or Spotify subscription, there's a substantially larger pool of holiday tunes to play.

No subscription? No problem: Enable the Christmas Radio skill and then ask Alexa to play it. Of course, you can always just ask her to sing you a Christmas carol. The result may surprise you.

Listen to 'The Night Before Christmas' and other stories
Alexa can recite the entire poem, though one could argue that -- unlike her singing -- her reading lacks a certain warmth. For a livelier version, ask her to play the poem as sung by Peter, Paul and Mary.

Control your Christmas lights
There are numerous ways to put Alexa to work as the traffic cop for your holiday lights. The most basic: Plug any strand of lights into a smart, Alexa-compatible outlet. (For example, An Oomi smart plug.) That way you can say things like, "Alexa, turn the Christmas tree lights on."

You can also invest in a strand of lights that are, themselves, smart. Oomi ColorStrip+, for example, can change colors, perform various effects and more -- and it's Alexa-compatible, so you don't need a special outlet.

Suggest daily acts of kindness
Tis the season of giving, right? The Christmas Kindness skill -- the highest-rated holiday skill for Alexa, interestingly -- will suggest a random act of kindness you can perform every day. For example: Let that stressed-out mom jump ahead of you in line at the grocery store. (Say... that could work all year 'round!)

Play Christmas sounds
Want a festive holiday soundtrack that's not music? Enable the Christmas Sounds skill, then ask Alexa to play it. You'll be treated to a running stream of hooting owls, clopping hooves, Christmas carolers and more. It's like there's a whole party going on inside your Echo! (Take note: When you ask Alexa to turn off the sounds, it doesn't happen immediately. That's all I'll say.)

Track Santa
By enabling the Norad Tracks Santa skill (something a parent must approve within the Alexa app), you can ask "Where's Santa?" to get an updated location -- and, if you want, some interesting facts from Norad's "Santa Files."

Explore Christmas trivia
Alexa knows a fair bit about the world's biggest holiday. Among the questions she can answer: